Frugal Travel Tips

It’s the last Friday of the month, which means it’s Happy Hour Friday on my podcast. In this episode, me and the ladies chat about frugal travel tips and share some great travel stories. There is really a lot of great information and of course funny stories in this episode, and I hope you enjoy!

What are we drinking?

Melanie from Dear Debt – Poor Man’s Hot Toddy or “The Healer” as she calls it

Shannon is a financial planner who left a “traditional” financial services firm to start her own company, The Financial Gym, because she felt traditional financial services firms did not have the tools or resources to help people in their 20s and 30s who are starting out and trying to build assets while also managing debt. She realized that the key to long-term personal financial success is a commitment to financial fitness and making smart financial choices.
Through her blog, Financially Blonde, her book, Train Your Way To Financial Fitness, her podcast, Martinis and Your Money and The Financial Gym, Shannon is committed to making financial fitness fun, easy and accessible for everyone.

Thanks for sharing all these great travel tips–I can talk about travel all day, every day, and I’m all about thrifty travel. My husband rather get a 4-star hotel than stay at a hostel or camp but I’ve taught him that the cheaper we travel, the more places we can go! I am also a big advocate on travel rewards cards–as long as you keep your spending in check, a credit card that offers travel rewards can come in really handy for free flights and hotel nights. For hotels, I personally like Hotels.com. They match any price anywhere (they’ll even discount the price if you find free wifi/parking/breakfast through another site so that the rate reflects the same overall cost) PLUS you get a free night after every 10 stays. If you use your credit card with airfare miles to book the hotel stays, you’ll earn double the rewards! The only time it pays off to spend a little more is on airfare for the airline that you have already accrued thousands of miles for. I’m not saying spend A LOT more, but an extra $50 or $75 on a cross country or international flight will pay off in free flights in the future!

I think initial travel tips I can share with are eating before heading to the airport and researching for cheaper parking area. I enjoyed the podcast again especially the part when the topic was about flying internationally during Thanksgiving. Great tips!

One of my favorite trips that I’ve ever been on was also one of my most frugal. Because I am half Jewish, I was able to travel to Israel for 10 days for next to nothing. I participated in a Birthright program, which funds Jewish people under the age of 26 for a 10 day guided tour of Israel. We went all over the country, had a fantastic guide, and saw so many incredible sights. Some trips are very religious, but mine was entirely secular. The program pays for flights from the US, all in-country travel, breakfast and dinner each day, lodging, and all sites and museum fees. I paid for lunches and souvenirs, and I think I spent less than $200 for the entire, AMAZING trip! I know this option isn’t available for everyone, but if you’re young and Jewish, I would highly recommend taking advantage!

I must admit that as an experienced traveler, I did not expect much from this podcast. I was WRONG–it was both fun and informative! I was channeling Shannon’s father while listening to the show as I am generally frugal but do let loose for that one big trip each year. I do not travel half way around the world to stand in long lines and eat pre-packaged ramen noodles. (That said, I do carry a box of Clif Bars everywhere I go.)